Two 15-year-olds have been arrested and charged with shooting a security guard at Lenox Square Mall in Atlanta.
The shooting occurred outside the Apple store near the mall entrance at 3393 Peachtree Road around 8:30 p.m. on Sunday.
Cellphone video shows two armed suspects wearing all black and face masks attempting to rob a male guard in his 40s.
The guard appeared to be luring the two suspects away from the Apple store toward the parking lot when they opened fire.
According to 11 Alive News, the guard is hospitalized in critical condition with at least two gunshot wounds.
After the shooting, police combed the area and located the two suspects at the nearby Westin Buckhead Atlanta Hotel. Police say the suspects, a boy and a girl, were arrested at the scene.
The suspects are charged with attempted murder, armed robbery, tampering with evidence, possession of a firearm, and a laundry list of other charges.
Police recovered two firearms that may have been used in the shooting.
Atlanta is crippled by an unprecedented crime wave after out of towners burned and looted Atlanta during the Covid-19 pandemic last year.
Lenox Mall has been the scene of multiple shootings and incidences of violence since last year.
The Simon Property is located across the street from upscale Phipps Plaza, also a Simon Property. The company installed metal detectors at the entrances of both malls.
The response to the crime wave has been weakened by the lack of law enforcement as many police officers turned in their badges following last year’s riots.
As a result of the criticism, Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms announced her decision not to seek reelection.
According to sources within the mayor’s office, she is moving to another state to accept a lucrative position in the private sector.
